What's New
We've released a free version of SketchUp. It is called Google SketchUp (free) and is available for download here. The name of the non-free version is now SketchUp Pro 5, which is still available for sale on our website or by contacting us. The price of SketchUp Pro 5 has not changed; it still costs US$495/469€/315£. If you currently own a license for SketchUp 5, you own a license for SketchUp Pro 5.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?
Differences between Google SketchUp (free) and SketchUp Pro 5 are as follows:
- Pro users are able to print and export raster images at higher-than-screen resolution.
- Pro users have access to the following 3D export formats: DWG, DXF, 3DS, OBJ, XSI, VRML and FBX.
- Pro users are able to export animations and walkthroughs as MOV (Mac) or AVI (Windows) files.
- Pro users get the Sandbox Tools (for organic modeling of terrain, etc) and the Film & Stage Tools (for pre-viz work).
- Pro users have access to free email tech support for two years after they buy SketchUp Pro.
- Finally, only SketchUp Pro is approved for commercial use; the free version is licensed for personal use only.
WHAT'S NEW, PART TEW
We've launched the 3D Warehouse, an online repository for SketchUp content accessible to all users of SketchUp, free or Pro. SketchUp models can be uploaded to and downloaded from the 3D Warehouse directly from Google SketchUp (free) and from SketchUp Pro 5 (once the proper plug-in has been installed). The 3D Warehouse is accessed through the "Google" menu in Google SketchUp (free) or SketchUp Pro 5 (once the plug-in has been installed). All content on the 3D Warehouse is currently free.
Please note that the 3D Warehouse is still in beta development, which means that all the wrinkles haven't yet been ironed out. We'd love for you to use it, and if you find something we should know about, please let us know.
Also please note that for now, only Windows versions of Google SketchUp (free) and the plug-in for SketchUp Pro 5 are available. Mac versions are in development, and should be available soon.
